When AD France turned 10 years old, in 2010, the publication’s editor in chief, Marie Kalt, ditched the typical, Champagne-filled anniversary party in favor of a special event that truly encapsulated the landscape of French decoration. Kalt invited 10 designers, from a variety of disciplines and styles, to create functional spaces within Artcurial’s auction house, which resides inside the historic Hôtel Marcel Dassault in Paris. "The exhibition was such a success that we decided to do it again and again," says Kalt. Past sites included such cultural icons as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Palais d'Iéna. "Last year, we ended up at Monnaie de Paris, a spot that used to mint money, in the 1700s, but has since transformed into a contemporary art museum. Its 18th-century floor plan gives it a special caché."

For AD Intérieurs’s eighth edition, the magazine will return to the French institution for a second time, inviting a new set of designers to reimagine its first floor, whose 7,500 square feet spans 10 rooms and a grand entrance hall. Their task is open for interpretation, but it must fit the exhibition’s theme: Art and Matter, an exploration of materials in art history. "We asked them to work on specific materials in interior design: wood, leather, marble, wallpaper," says Kalt. "Each designer tackled one and gave it a special treatment within their space to make a livable environment. It’s not an artwork or installation; it has to function."

Isabelle Stanislas's room.

The open-ended concept allows the designers, a mix of notable names and newcomers, to construct spaces they would never have the opportunity to design through a private commission. "It's really like a laboratory," Kalt explains. Armed with unlimited possibilities, the designers tapped into their wildest imaginations without the restrictions that typically cap their creativity when working with a client—and the results are inspiring.

Young talent Rodolphe Parente transformed a tiny amount of square footage into a luxe laundry room, with a floor crafted from metal fragments that include colorful high-gloss finishes and spare enamel lacquers; veteran Isabelle Stanislas drummed up a whimsical fantasy that balanced the severity of concrete with embroidered butterflies and a sofa upholstered in velvet gold threads. "The exhibition is built very much like a magazine," says Kalt. "You can go from a neutral space to a colorful one, or something exuberant to stark—the same way we put stories, one after the other, in the magazine. Every time a guest stumbles upon a new room, we want it to be a surprise."

Click through the imaginative spaces that form this year’s AD Intérieurs.

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